Hill_Country
Member
I have used the Tetra and both versions of the Birchwood-Casey blue and neither have any odor.
Here's the link to the 457 when I received it.
I removed the sights then cleaned up the slide using wet or dry sandpaper and oil on a granite tile flat plate. It goes faster if you strip the finish first using the Birchwood-Casey stripper. I started with 220 grit then went to 300. The slide takes a nice polish. Degrease well and slop on the blue. I found there is no rush to stop the chemical action with water – let it work as long as possible, then wipe gently and do it again. The instructions said to polish with a cotton cloth, but I found that I could rub through the finish until it had cured for a good while. I need to post some pictures, but the slide is now every bit as black as the anodized frame. Nice thing about it is that if I get some holster wear, it is a simple matter to degrease and touch up. Oil well when you're finished.
You might also notice the Bubba marks on the 457 right under the slide lock. The gun looks like Bubba got finger prints all over his new – never fired – gun then tried to remove the slide lock with a screwdriver and scratched the frame. The Bubba marks went right across the serial number so I was afraid to try to polish them out, but the Birchwood-Casey Aluminum Black on a Q-tip matched them perfectly with the surrounding finish – no need to strip the frame.
I got a bargain on the 457 because of the rusty fingerprints on the slide and they turned out not to be that difficult to refinish. The rest of the gun and grips don't have a mark to indicate that it was ever fired or carried so I'm pretty happy with the deal. I don't know that it will replace my 9mm trio of third gens, but I'd forgotten how nice 45 acp is to fire. I have a nice Kramer #3 on order, but I'm learning to like the nylon DeSantis I found in my holster box.
